Twilight, reenvisioned
by Zyxriva
Summary: This is a loose retelling of the original novel, Twilight, as a single book, rather than the start of a series. Drama, romance, all done as you've never seen before in the Twilight Saga.
1. Chapter 1

Twilight

Chapter 1

A Death in the Family

It was a cold day in late November when it happened. Although I was not there myself, I have been told in retrospect that it was grey for most of the day. The weather was probably a-typical, but then again, it's not every day that someone buries their mother.

Bella stood on the edge of a grassy hill and watched the funeral procession drive by. She didn't want to watch the actual burial, she had been through enough. As the rain began to drip down from the sky she would look back on all the good times she had had with her mother. She remembered her fourth birthday, when she had learned to ride a bike. She remembered the day she had tried to make her mother breakfast in bed, but burned everything. Her mother was such a kind woman though, she wasn't angered by this. Instead, she just smiled and helped Bella clean the mess up. Now, nearly eight years later, Bella was alone for the first time in her life.

A tear drop rolled down from her sad, brown eyes, or maybe it was the rain falling on her face. Either way, Bella knew that her life would soon change dramatically, weather it would be for the better or for the worse was still to be determined. Kelsey, her friend from English class, had been texting her on and off throughout the day and had just sent Bella a message that read "Do you know what's going to happen?"

Bella thought for a moment, she did not. As far as she knew, she had no living relatives, and, being under 18, she couldn't live by herself. In a moment, visions of foster parents flashed through her head. She imagined a Lemony Snikett-esque saga of death and woe, but that wouldn't happen. Bella thought about what she should do, and how she could take the situation into her own hands. She would run away, she thought. She could live alone, get a GED and then start some kind of a life. No, that was a stupid idea. She went with a simple "IDK" message and shut her phone off.

The rain was really coming down hard now and Bella produced her umbrella to shield her from the storm. She saw the small group of friends standing by an open grave, the priest reading some words of kindness. She was beginning to regret the decision not to go to the burial. She needed words of kindness. Bella began to walk down the earthen path towards where the cemetery was, as the rain quickened she too sped up her stride until she was almost at a full run. She reached the grave side just in time to hear "Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust."

Her mother's coffin descended into the black hole that was before her, Bella watched in mortified silence. The priest dropped the first handful of earth onto the grave and the rest of the group departed one by one, some patted Bella on the back while others gave her a reassuring word, but none of them gave her what she wanted: The love that she had lost, the woman who was being swallowed by the earth. Bella was not one to give in to sadness, she would often hide how she felt, but now she wasn't in the mood. She stood by the grave and wept for the woman who had raised her, and then something strange happened.

Bella reached up to her face and felt a dry patch, she looked up and saw that the clouds had parted and the rain had stopped coming. Then a hand rested on her shoulder, Bella turned around and saw a man that she had never seen before, yet his face was familiar. He took her in his arms and she cried. She cried for so long, but had no idea why. She didn't know why she trusted him, but something inside of her was telling her that he was safe, he was good. He was a part of her.

Several minutes passed, then the man spoke, "Bella… my name is Charlie… I don't know how to say this… but I'm your father."

Bella was stunned, she stared blankly into the face of this strange newcomer. He had a friendly looking smile on his face, and perched on his nose was a pair of reading glasses. Bella had always assumed that she had a father, but her mother never wanted to talk about it. Once, she had told her that he was an alcoholic and that he used to do 'bad things' to her, that's why she ran away with Bella. This was strangely contradictory with what she was seeing now, how could this kind man have caused so much pain?

Time seemed to blur together and before she knew it, she was sitting in a local diner with the man as he tried to explain what he was doing here. Bella didn't actually care where he had been, she didn't care that he was going to AA meetings and she didn't care that he had a steady job. The only thing she cared about was that her daddy was here for her now, and that he would always be there for her in the future. Bella tuned in to what he was saying towards the end of the conversation, just as he said, "and… when I heard what happened to your mom… I knew I had to set things right. Look, Bella, I can't ever make up for what we've missed, but I want to be a good father to you now. Will you come back to Forks to live with me?"

Bella was stunned, on the one hand he was her father, but on the other hand she had a life here. Then she remembered her fantasy from earlier. She didn't want to be chased over the country by a mad man with a unibrow, all she wanted was some stability for her last year of childhood. She looked up at the man and nodded softly. "Yes… I'd like that very much…"

Charlie smiled and gave her a warm embrace; Bella could feel the warmth from his body. It was warming her, bringing her back to life. She remembered that there was still good in the world, and would give it a second chance. Things would get better, things always get better.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The day after the funeral

"What?" Bella asked out loud. She had been refraining from expressing her true feelings up to this point, but this new proposition took her by surprise.

"I want you to come and live with me, Bella. I know I haven't been much of a father to you, but I want you to give me a chance."

"Why? Why are you were you waiting till now?" Bella had already been shattered by the death of her mother. She didn't need this.

"Don't get me wrong, Bella, I loved your mother… I really did… but I was stupid and let her slip through my fingers. I'm never going to get a chance to make things right with her; I just want to be able to have done one thing right."

Bella sat back in her chair. She had never considered the red padded seats in the local diner to be comfortable, but they served their purpose. She stared at her father. This man had missed her whole life, but now he wanted to take her away from it. The thing that scared Bella the most was that she was seriously thinking about it. The man in front of her had the look of someone who had drank more alcohol than water, but at the same time he had a trustable warn look. His eyes reflected the garish light coming from the neon sign outside, and the only think that punctuated Bella's thoughts was the rain; keeping gentle cadence with the ticking clock on the wall.

"What's Forks like?" She asked.

Charlie's eyes brightened a little, this was the first time Bella had implied interest. "It's… in Washington, so it's cold a lot of the time… uh… it's a quiet town, you'd be getting away from the buzz of the city."

"But what are the people like?" Bella leaned in.

"The people?"

"The people are a town's blood, the spice of it."

"Why don't you find out?"

"What?"

"Tell you what, Bella. Why don't you come down for a month…? I promise there won't be any obligation. You can live with me and go to the high school… See if this could work out."

The next words out of Bella's mouth would be crucial. In one moment she would seal the fate of not only herself, but more than a dozen people she hadn't even met yet. She could turn the world upside down with just one word. Then she said it, and the word, dear reader, was "yes."


	3. Chapter 3

**Beta's Note: I've heard from the author the updates for this story will be regular for a while. I'll let you know when it ends, but for now, expect updates every Monday. **

Chapter 3

Bella didn't like Forks. Not at first. Given that her first impression of the town was seeing it fly by from a water speckled window; what she could see of the town would best be described by a single word: Dull. Very dull. There was a small convenience store that also doubled as the town's pit stop and mechanic, "I work there," Charlie said as they drove by a small diner and… what was that? It looked like a church… if a church had forgotten that it was meant to be a church. The building was painted –I use the word loosely- with a nasty off-white colour, almost like the walls had only been primed, and another colour was meant to be added to the cacophony, but whoever was going to paint it had just forgotten. The steeple was tall, but clearly should have been condemned. Given the lack of a bell, Bella assumed that the tower rang with silence every Sunday.

"Do they have services?" She asked her father as they drove by. Bella had never been particularly religious. Her mother was a Catholic, but all of her friends back home were Mormon. She had decided that it would probably be best not to sign on with either ship to avoid conflict.

"Um… I don't think so… most of the people 'round here don't have much time for praying."

"Oh." Bella looked down. The rain continued to sprinkle an ice cold course through to the pavement below the truck's ever turning wheels. This wasn't a home, she thought. This was a truck stop, a little nowhere town that real people only went to when they needed gas, food, or some other variation on Maslow's hierarchy of needs. She postulated that all of the people here were vacant, empty, and soulless. Anyone she would meet would look at her, but all she would see would be her own reflection.

Bella pondered more on this as she lay in her bed, looking at the clearly handmade ceiling. A quiet drop of water played a solemn beat that would accentuate the rest of the silence that filled the room. She rolled over on her cot and pulled the patchwork blanket closer to her bosom. Why did she agree to this? A foster parent would at least give her a proper… wait… suddenly Bella's thoughts fell silent. What was that sound? Scratching at first, but no, melodic.

The sounded wafted through the room as though calling to her, humming to her. Tune, rhythm, melody. Something almost ethereal. It was the sound of a singular violin playing that broke the night in two. Bella walked up to her window and after a little effort managed to get it open, but oh, dear reader, when she did.

Bella heard the sound of the violin as clearly as though it were right next to her, the raindrops and the other sounds of the night served only to articulate the melody. Whoever was playing was not merely a soloist, they were a conductor, leading an orchestra of the night in a perfect harmony.

Bella climbed out onto the awning and walked to its edge. "Where was that sound coming from?" She wondered aloud. It was impossible to determine, the music seemed to come from everywhere, but when Bella tried to zero in on it all that she could do was identify the parts, but never the source.

And so she stood there, all through the night just listening. The rain had saturated her night dress by this point, but she didn't even notice. She stood listening to the beautiful music until she could endure no more, and then she let the lullaby send her off to sleep. Her last thoughts, as she fell asleep where thus; "This could be home."


End file.
